Aux input on car radio.

I want to play my Sansa fuze over the car speakers. I have an aux input on my radio that accepts a 3.5mm cable.  It is specifically designed for MP3 players. Do I simply need a cable that attaches from the player’s headphone jack to the aux input on the radio?

Thanks in advance for your help

Gerryswo wrote:

I want to play my Sansa fuze over the car speakers. I have an aux input on my radio that accepts a 3.5mm cable.  It is specifically designed for MP3 players. Do I simply need a cable that attaches from the player’s headphone jack to the aux input on the radio?

 

Thanks in advance for your help

That is exactly what you need. Once you have the cable, make sure the Fuze’s EQ is set on “Normal”, turn the Fuze volume all the way up, and you’ll be good to go.:wink:

Marvin_Martian wrote:


Gerryswo wrote:

I want to play my Sansa fuze over the car speakers. I have an aux input on my radio that accepts a 3.5mm cable.  It is specifically designed for MP3 players. Do I simply need a cable that attaches from the player’s headphone jack to the aux input on the radio?

 

Thanks in advance for your help


That is exactly what you need. Once you have the cable, make sure the Fuze’s EQ is set on “Normal”, turn the Fuze volume all the way up, and you’ll be good to go.:wink:

And if it doesn’t want to work, try switching the USB mode. I think it will probably want MSC, but some have been known to require MTP mode too. Just don’t use the Auto Defect setting (for the obvious reason). :smiley:

Mode doesn’t matter with a cord in the headphone jack.

Black-Rectangle wrote:
Mode doesn’t matter with a cord in the headphone jack.

True enough, BR. Guess I need to get my glasses checked. I saw the Aux input in the Subject line and thought USB.

Thanks for the help, but what is the Fuze’s EQ? And what is MSC and MTP?


And if it doesn’t want to work, try switching the USB mode. I think it will probably want MSC, but some have been known to require MTP mode too. Just don’t use the Auto Defect setting (for the obvious reason).

Hey guys, I have a Sansa Fuze, havent had it long and I’m like the original poster…i want mine to play out of my car speakers. I have a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox and I dont see anything that would take a cord(this 3.5 mm cord the poster is talking about). What do I do? Is there anything I can buy? I dont know what to do. Thanks! 

Some car radios have an AUX IN plug that looks like a headphone jack. Perfect for connecting headphone-out to AUX IN.

If yours doesn’t, you can spend about $30 on an FM transmitter that will plug into your headphone jack and send a signal to be picked up by your car radio. The transmitter will either broadcast on some pre-chosen frequencies or let you choose the frequency to find an empty spot on your FM dial.

My experience with an FM transmitter (Belkin) is that it works OK for a while and starts to fritz out when the signal drifts. But if you’re desperate, that’s your option. Or, for about $120-$150, you could get a car stereo with an AUX-IN.

A lot of companies make adapters for factory radios:

http://www.installer.com/aux/

Best bet is to find a Equinox forum and ask there. Someone has done it. It is the #1 most popular “car mod”.

One thing about the Aux-In 3.5mm cable - my car’s stereo is possibly poorly designed but a generic 3.5mm cable didn’t fit securely.  I had to get a cord specifically made for iPhone (because the connector is more slender).  I love using an MP3 player in the car.  I listen to lots of audiobooks!

Like everyone else on this post I have a 3.5mm jack in my car.  It works ok but I have to turn my fuze volume all the way up and my car stereo almost all the way just to hear the music.  Is there some kind of booster out there or maybe a way to use the accessory cable from the sansa and plug it into the 3.5mm jack.

First, make sure the volume option is set to High. You could also use a headphone amp between the Fuze and your car’s stereo.

Alternatively, if the files are .mp3 format, you could use a free programcalled MP3Gain to boost the output level of the tracks; sort of a ‘preamp gain’. With this though, you may encounter clipping which doesn’t sound so good.

Yet another newbie here (this is actually my first MP3 player, too).

I just bought a used car with the AUX jack for MP3 players and such. So, I went out and got the connectors, a fuze, and a USB charging port for the power outlet in the dash. Thing works great when it is not plugged in to the charging port, but if I plug it in, all I get is a tapping noise every second or so. It goes right back to working fine when disconnected from the power port. Any ideas on how to make it work when plugged up (if it’s even possible). It plays through the headphones just fine when plugged into the port, so I can’t see why it wouldn’t when hooked up to the AUX of the radio.

Thoughts or solutions?

I would try a different 12v DC car charger.

Well, just tried the USB port on my wife’s cell phone car charger and same deal. We even tried my son’s tiny Sandisk MP3 player (not sure what the model is) with the same results. No music, just a hum and tapping noise.

Anyone else have this problem or know the solution?

Earth loop of some kind - ie earth on radio not the same potential as earth on the charger??

Pull the radio out and try a flying lead between the ground on the radio and the ground on the charger…?

Well test the voltage between the two first though - if it’s ~12v don’t do the above!!!

Thanks for the tips. I kinda solved the problem a different (and somewhat round-a-bout) way. My Nitro has an inverter built in, so just used my home charger plugged into that. Works great and I just turn on the inverter when the battery gets low.

Mdablitz50 wrote:
Like everyone else on this post I have a 3.5mm jack in my car.  It works ok but I have to turn my fuze volume all the way up and my car stereo almost all the way just to hear the music.  Is there some kind of booster out there or maybe a way to use the accessory cable from the sansa and plug it into the 3.5mm jack.

Fiio makes several models that will boost output.  I bought the Fiio E3, it runs on 1 AAA battery and increases the volume somewhat and removes static/hiss.  If you are looking for a more dramatic improvement you could get one of the more expensive models.